George McZavier King Jr. (born January 15, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for Al Ittihad Alexandria. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden ...

, earning second-team all-conference honors in the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

as a senior in 2018. He was selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in the second round of the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

College career

King grew up in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

before moving to

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, where he played at William J. Brennan High School. He came to the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

and played sparingly for the Buffaloes as a freshman. King and coach Tad Boyle mutually agreed for him to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

the next season for both academic and athletic reasons. The decision proved to be a good one, as King returned for the 2015–16 season and was named the

's Most Improved Player after averaging 13.6

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

and 4.7

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. The next season, King's role adjusted as the team added future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

Derrick White. King averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds as a junior. He declared for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

without an agent, but ultimately decided to return to Colorado for his senior season. In his final college season, King averaged 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors. At the close of his career, King finished with 1,294 points and 681 rebounds, ranking him in the school's all-time top 20 in both statistical categories. King also finished with 181 career three-pointers and shot .401 from the three-point line, good for finishing in the top-5 in school history when he graduated.

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, King was named to the

Reese's College All-Star Game The Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Reese's College All-Star Game, founded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, NABC, is a men's college basketball game showcasing 20 of the best senior players in NCAA Division I. The two teams are coa ...

, a showcase for senior professional prospects. King scored 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the game, earning Most Outstanding Player honors for the East squad. King then moved to the

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the only postseason camp restricted to college basketball seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-Draft (sports), draft camps, the other being the Orlando pre-Draft (sport ...

, another pre-draft camp, where he averaged 18 points and 7.7 rebounds, earning all-tournament honors. King's standout performances resulted in an invitation to the 2018 NBA Draft Combine.

Phoenix Suns (2018–2019)

On June 21, 2018, King was selected by the

with the 59th pick of the

. Ten days later, he was announced as one of the players for the Suns'

2018 NBA Summer League The 2018 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Sacramento Kings's California Classic Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. The Sacr ...

squad. On July 6, King signed with the Suns entering his rookie season. Unlike the team's other rookies, King signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with them, thus splitting his playing time with the Phoenix Suns and their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate team, the

Northern Arizona Suns The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play as the Long ...

. In his debut in the NBA G League on November 4, King recorded 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and a block in a 118–108 loss to the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

. King made his NBA debut on December 11, 2018, in a 111–86 loss to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, playing six minutes and grabbing a rebound with no points scored. It was the only game King played that season, as he injured his ankle during his time with the Northern Arizona team. In 41

games, King averaged 15.5 points on 47.9% shooting and 43.3% three-point shooting alongside 5.3 rebounds per game. For the 2019 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, King played in four games for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

Aquila Basket Trento (2019–2020)

On July 21, 2019, King signed with

Aquila Basket Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trento, Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur ...

of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

. In 16 games, he averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

Stelmet Enea BC Zielona Góra (2020)

On January 17, 2020, King signed with Stelmet Enea BC Zielona Góra of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English language, English: Polish Basketball League), officially known as the Orlen Basket Liga due to its sponsorship by Orlen, is a professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Poland. I ...

and

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. In six games, he averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. After the season was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, King returned to see his extended family in North Carolina.

Niners Chemnitz (2020–2021)

On July 22, 2020, King signed with the Niners Chemnitz of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

Agua Caliente Clippers and Dallas Mavericks (2021–2022)

On September 27, 2021, King signed with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. However, he was waived on October 14 and joined the Agua Caliente Clippers of the

. He averaged 13.9 points per game in 13 games, shooting 46.6% from three-point range. On December 22, 2021, King signed a 10-day contract with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. On January 1, 2022, King was reacquired by the Ontario Clippers after his 10-day deal expired.

Illawarra Hawks (2022–2023)

On August 8, 2022, King signed with the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) are an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

in Australia for the 2022–23 NBL season. On November 20, 2022, he returned to the United States to begin rehabilitation on a season-ending lower leg injury.

Ontario Clippers (2023)

On October 30, 2023, King rejoined the

Ontario Clippers The San Diego Clippers are a professional basketball team based in San Diego County, California, that competes in the NBA G League. The team plays its home games at Frontwave Arena. The Clippers began play in the 2017–18 NBA G League season, 20 ...

. However, he was waived on December 22.

Ironi Nes Ziona (2024)

On January 5, 2024, King signed with Ironi Ness Ziona of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

Blackwater Bossing (2024–2025)

On August 26, 2024, King signed with the

Blackwater Bossing The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise started as one of the founding teams in the ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA) to replace

Ricky Ledo Ricardo Julio Ledo (born September 10, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Beirut Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. He committed to play for the Providence Friars, but the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( ...

as the team's import for the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup. On September 23, 2024, King scored a career-high 64 points to go along with 13 rebounds in their 139–118 rout over the

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise righ ...

. On September 25, 2024, King resigned with Blackwater as the team's import for the 2024–25 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Al Ittihad Alexandria (2025–present)

In April 2025, King was part of Egypt's Al Ittihad Alexandria for the 2025 BAL season.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 1 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , – , , – , , – , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, 27 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .282 , , .200 , , .652 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 27 , , 25.4 , , .446 , , .456 , , .748 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 31 , , 27.7 , , .460 , , .376 , , .671 , , 6.8 , , .7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 31 , , 28.5 , , .445 , , .395 , , .782 , , 7.8 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .7 , , 12.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 127 , , 89 , , 22.6 , , .444 , , .401 , , .731 , , 5.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , .3 , , 10.2

Personal life

Throughout his life, his parents were involved in the U.S. military. His father, George Sr., is an Army veteran, while his mother, Tresse, a

Chief Master Sergeant A chief master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Philippines Philippine armed forces Since 2004, as part of the ongoing modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippi ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, died in Kuwait on August 3, 2021. He also has a sister named Jecia Anderson, who was born in 1991.

References

External links

*
Colorado Buffaloes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, George 1994 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen Agua Caliente Clippers players Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players Aquila Basket Trento players Basketball players from Fayetteville, North Carolina Basketball players from San Antonio Blackwater Bossing players Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players Dallas Mavericks players Illawarra Hawks players Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. players Lega Basket Serie A players Niners Chemnitz players Northern Arizona Suns players Ontario Clippers players Philippine Basketball Association imports Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Shooting guards United States men's national basketball team players Zastal Zielona Góra players Al Ittihad Alexandria Club basketball players